FEATURE STORY
S
h
o
p
p
in
g
for
Horse
Stalls
Consider your options when
purchasing horse stalls
by Martin A. Wilke
I
n all of the articles I’ve written about horse gear I’ve horse can conceivably get its foreleg through the space and be injured.
reminded the reader that you are likely going to get If you want solid sides or backs, the most common design has a steel
what you're willing to pay for. This holds true for stalls. frame into which you place 2-inch planed lumber on the top and the
It’s possible to spend too little when purchasing stalls, but it’s also bottom. These designs are practical in that if a horse kicks out a board,
possible to spend more than is necessary. it’s easy to fi x.
Choosing Components
One can also buy all-steel stalls, but the fact is, horses will some-
times kick the sides of their stalls. While one livestock facility reported
Stalls are sold in components. This means that you buy as many
no difference in the noise level between steel and wood, I like the wood
fronts, sides and backs as you need. It might seem to be elementary, but
because I’d rather see the wood break than have the horse injure itself.
draw a map of your intended installation.
Steel is not very forgiving.
I can think of several instances in which
Some stalls are made with an easily locked front, but if stalls are
customers were prepared to order more
locked, there is no way for someone without the key to get your horses
pieces than necessary. If, for example,
out in an emergency. I don't recommend locking stalls.
“
you set up stalls side by side, you will
Keep in
be sharing one side between the
Stall Doors
mind that
stalls. That means that one of the The most common door has wood on the bottom and vertical steel
two stalls will be four pieces and bars on the top. Dutch doors have a top and bottom that open inde-
a horse one will be three. Fairgrounds will pendently from each other. Personally, I prefer a door hanging on rollers.
shelter
often set up a row of stalls with They open and close easily, and when the door is open it doesn’t plug
another row behind it so the backs the alley the way a swinging door does.
is not
of the stalls are used jointly by A racing door has a partial top with a V shape for the horse to stick
a barn.
”
the two rows. Drawing a map and its head out. Many stalls have a small feeding door as well so you can
counting all of the parts will ensure place hay or grain in the stall without opening the main door. The feed
that you are not over-ordering. door should be closed except when feeding. Again, hooves can get
Regarding the parts themselves, you caught in the space.
have several options for materials, layout and
components. Most people choose stalls that are 12 feet
square and 7 feet tall. If you do the math, you’ll see that a 12-foot square
stall has almost half again as many square feet as a 10-foot square stall
(144 compared to 100). That extra footage is important to a horse.
Comfort and Safety
With most manufacturers, you have a choice of whether you want
a stall side or back that is solid, thus keeping horses more isolated from
each other, or a side or back that is wood in the bottom four feet and
steel bars in the top three feet. The latter allows socialization and greater
air fl ow. Also, lower cost stalls often have three or four horizontal bars
across the top three feet of the stall. A safer (though more expensive)
design has vertical steel bars placed close enough together to prevent a
hoof from getting through. This design has more steel and more labor
so it costs more, but horizontal bars are often far enough apart that a
34 March 2010 The Northwest Horse Source www.nwhorsesource.com
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